Science Daily April 4, 2023 Redox-active non-conjugated radical polymers are promising candidates for metal-free aqueous batteries because of the polymers’ high discharge voltage and fast redox kinetics. However, little is known regarding the energy storage mechanism of these polymers in an aqueous environment. The reaction itself is complex and difficult to resolve because of the simultaneous transfer of electrons, ions and water molecules. Researchers at Texas A&M University have demonstrated the nature of the redox reaction for poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy-4-yl acrylamide) by examining aqueous electrolytes of varying chao-/kosmotropic character using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring at a range of timescales. […]
Category Archives: Battery technology
Revolutionary battery technology to boost EV range 10-fold or more
Science Daily March 29, 2023 High-capacity anode materials are promising candidates for increasing the energy density of lithium (Li)-ion batteries due to their high theoretical capacities. However, a rapid capacity fading due to the huge volume changes during charge-discharge cycles limits practical applications. Researchers in South Korea developed a layering-charged polymeric binder that could effectively integrate high-capacity anodes using a strong yet reversible Coulomb interaction and enriched hydrogen bonding. The charged polymeric binder built a dynamically charge-directed network on the active materials with high versatility and efficiently dissipated the electrode stress with mechanical properties. In addition, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) moieties […]
Carbon fiber paper for longer-lasting electric vehicle batteries
Nanowerk March 27, 2023 Researchers in South Korea have designed and constructed a hierarchical surface on carbon fiber (CF) using binders in fabricated CF paper (CFP). The lightweight CF with high mechanical properties established a 3D network structure as an alternative to Cu foil. The binders were transformed into oxygen-containing amorphous carbon and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) using a low-temperature carbonization process which to uniform Li nucleation and a stable solid electrolyte interphase layer with inorganic components. In tests CFP with amorphous carbon and Na2CO3 (ANCFP) showed a low Li nucleation overpotential and smooth dendrite-free Li plating. The ANCFP electrode exhibited […]
Synthesis gas and battery power from sunlight energy
Science Daily March 21, 2023 Parallel sunlight-driven catalytic conversion of CO2 and protons to syngas is a key step toward a sustainable energy cycle. State-of-the-art catalytic systems and materials often fall short as application-oriented concurrent CO and H2 evolution requires challenging reaction conditions which can hamper stability, selectivity, and efficiency. Researchers in Germany engineered a light-harvesting metal-organic framework hosting two molecular catalysts to yield colloidal, water-stable, versatile nanoreactors for photocatalytic syngas generation with highly controllable product ratios. In-depth fluorescence, X-ray, and microscopic studies paired with kinetic analysis show that the host delivers energy efficiently to active sites, conceptually yielding nanozymes. […]
Stalactites and stalagmites in the battery?
Science Daily March 17, 2023 The role of grain boundaries in the nucleation and dendritic growth of metallic lithium is not yet fully understood. Researchers in Germany used operando Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements to map locally time-dependent electric potential changes in the Li6.25Al0.25La3Zr2O12 garnet-type solid electrolyte. They found that the Galvani potential dropped at grain boundaries near the lithium metal electrode during plating as a response to the preferential accumulation of electrons. Time-resolved electrostatic force microscopy measurements and quantitative analyses of lithium metal formed at the grain boundaries under electron beam irradiation supported this finding. Based on these results, […]
Researchers develop new method to enhance sodium ion storage
Phys.org March 9, 2023 The larger diameter of Na ions compared to Li ions makes the sodiation/desodiation process more difficult with a larger volumetric variation of the electrode material, leading to poor capacity and cycling stability. Researchers in China developed an atomic-interface of well-constructed 2H-MoS2/Fe(SA)-N-C anode assembled with 2H-MoS2 layer and N-doped carbon-confined Fe atom, which boosted the reversible sodium storage capacity. They found that driven by the work function difference at the heterointerface, the electron could transfer from Fe(SA)-N-C to 2H-MoS2 easily, enhancing the adsorption Na+ ion at the S sites of electron-rich MoS2. They indicated that the change […]
New design for lithium-air battery could offer much longer driving range compared with the lithium-ion battery
Science Daily February 22, 2023 Lithium-air batteries have scope to compete with gasoline in terms of energy density. However, in most systems, the reaction pathways either involve one- or two-electron transfer, leading to lithium peroxide (Li2O2) or lithium superoxide (LiO2), respectively. A team of researchers in the US (Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois University) used a composite polymer electrolyte based on Li10GeP2S12 nanoparticles embedded in a modified polyethylene oxide polymer matrix. They found that Li2O is the main product in a room temperature solid-state lithium-air battery. The battery was rechargeable for 1000 cycles with a low polarization […]
New sodium, aluminum battery aims to integrate renewables for grid resiliency
Science Daily February 7, 2023 Recent explorations pairing a sodium anode and aluminum cathode have demonstrated reversible, energy dense Na-Al cells with excellent rate capability using the electrochemical reaction between a molten Na anode and a NaAlCl4/Al cathode. A team of researchers in the US (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, industry) investigated the fundamental aspects of the NaAlCl4-NaAl2Cl7 reaction chemistry, and Na-metal/chloroaluminate batteries with excellent reversibility and areal capacity. Increasing the voltage window of the chloroaluminate Na-Al battery higher voltage was contributed by the acidic chloroaluminate cathode reaction, unlocking an additional specific energy of ∼119 Wh kg−1 by utilizing the conversion […]
Lithium-sulfur batteries are one step closer to powering the future
Science Daily January 6, 2023 Lithium-sulfur batteries exhibit poor cycle life and low energy content due to the polysulfides shuttling during cycling. An international team of researchers (South Korea, USA – Argonne National Laboratory, Stanford University) developed redox-active interlayers consisting of sulfur-impregnated polar ordered mesoporous silica. Unlike the redox-inactive interlayers, these redox-active interlayers enabled the electrochemical reactivation of the soluble polysulfides, protected the lithium metal electrode from detrimental reactions via silica-polysulfide polar-polar interactions and increased the cell capacity. When tested in a non-aqueous Li-S coin cell configuration, the use of the interlayer enabled an initial discharge capacity of about 8.5 […]
New strategy proposed for ultra-long cycle lithium-ion battery
Phys.org December 15, 2022 In the process of battery reaction, stress accumulation and lattice oxygen loss will cause some microcracks in lithium-rich manganese-based materials. The migration of transition metal ions will lead to phase transition of materials and other harmful side reactions. Researchers in China prepared high-performance cathode materials for lithium-rich manganese-based lithium-ion batteries. They did sulfur doping and in-situ growth of coherent spinel phase synchronously on the surface of lithium-rich manganese-based materials. The formation of TM-S bond configuration induced by S incorporation can effectively accelerated the lithium ions diffusion and suppressed the undesired oxygen redox. Therefore, the LMRS@S cathode […]